Rouge National Urban Park Flagship BioBlitz

June 24-25, 2017

Scroll down this page for info about the 2017 BioBlitz Canada 150 event.

Base Camp | ​Camp de base

This year's Bioblitz Canada base camp is being hosted by Parks Canada at Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP) - the very first national urban park in Canada! The last time we blitzed the park was in 2013, the same year that the agreement was signed to have the Rouge join the Parks Canada family of protected areas. After four years of change and growth and restoration work in the park, we are excited to be back to challenge our 2013 species count (over 1700 species), and to survey the new lands added to the northern and northeastern sections of RNUP for the very first time.

Rouge National Urban Park is a pretty special place - its proximity to the Greater Toronto Area, the largest urban centre in Canada, lends a unique opportunity for Canadians to experience a national park close to home. Once it's fully established, RNUP will be 79.1 square kilometres of protected land, including diverse habitats and wildlife, as well as important agricultural lands.

Some cool facts about Rouge National Urban Park:

The park spans across four different Greater Toronto Area municipalities - Toronto, Markham, Pickering and Uxbridge

Within the park boundaries you can find some of the best examples of remnant Carolinian Forest and wetlands in Ontario

Records of human history in the park date back over 10,000 years, with some of the oldest known Indigenous sites and villages in Canada

Once fully established, the park will be 22-times the size of Central Park in New York City, larger than Bermuda, and overall one of the largest urban protected areas in the world

More than 20,000 Canadians have been consulted in the development of RNUP since 2011

The agricultural lands included within the boundaries of the park are some of the last working farms in the GTA, and contain tracts of Class 1 farmland - the most fertile type of soil in the country!

For more information about RNUP, visit it's page on the Parks Canada website by clicking here

By Public TransitWhether you’re travelling from Toronto, Markham, Pickering, Mississauga or Hamilton, you can use public transit to visit Rouge National Urban Park. Plan your trip to Rouge National Urban Park today at Triplinx.ca

By Bus/SubwayFrom Union Station, ride the TTC eastbound Subway (Line 2) to Kennedy Station. Connect to Bus 86A Scarborough towards the Toronto Zoo. Get off at the intersection of Meadowvale Road and Zoo Road. Walk 100 metres to the right down Zoo Road and you will arrive at the Parks Canada Welcome Centre and Rouge Valley Conservation Centre.​By Commuter Train/BusFrom Union Station, take the Go Train Lakeshore East to Guildwood GO Station (4 stops). Connect to Bus 86A Scarborough towards the Toronto Zoo. Get off at the intersection of Meadowvale Road and Zoo Road. Walk 100 metres to the right down Zoo Road and you will arrive at the Parks Canada Welcome Centre and Rouge Valley Conservation Centre.

By BikeFrom downtown TorontoDistance = Approximately 38 kilometres Plan your route with Ride the City. Note that both the TTC and Go Transit allow you to bring bikes onto their trains and buses or have bike racks, though some restrictions apply at peak travel times. Consult their websites for more information and to help plan your route.CAUTION! Please note that biking to the park and between park areas can involve cycling on busier roads, many of which do not have dedicated cycling lanes. Please exercise caution and cycle safely.

​Below you’ll find an interactive map that has detailed information about the RNUP BioBlitz. From parking and access points for intensive blitz sites, to ecological mapping layers, this map has it all! We invite you to explore the areas we will be blitzing, and to share this map with your taxon and guided blitz groups. However, please note that the map is still being finalized, and information might change.

Safety Information

Renseignements sur la sécurité

Keeping our participants happy and safe during the bioblitz is one of our top priorities. Please visit the following website for an overview of visitor safety in Rouge National Urban Park to prepare for the event. Please note that no pets of any kind are allowed at the BioBlitz.